Tuesday, February 19, 2008

. . . since I haven't updated in a while, here are a few other options. I've started using jaanix.com, which I think has the potential to be a great social news/content aggregator. I still read reddit but I haven't been happy with it recently. A lot of the content on there has become either unbearably sensational or focused on political minutiae, so here's hoping jaanix takes off since its easy to tune out what you aren't interested in. One nice feature of jaanix is that every user gets their own subdomain full of the things they've submitted. Mine is at moultano.jaanix.com, which you can subscribe to in the rss reader of your choice should you feel so inclined.

I've also become a regular user of Google Reader which has dramatically increased the quality of what I read online. If you read online news but don't have a feed reader yet, you owe it to yourself to try it out. The purpose of Reader is to be your "inbox for the web." For most sites that include regularly updated content (like this one) you can drop the name of the sitel into the reader interface and it will keep track of it for you. Reader becomes your one stop shop for checking the sites you like to read, because all of the sites' updates will show up there like email messages as items for you to read. One great feature of Reader is that it allows you to share any item you are reading with your friends with a single click. It doesn't send anyone any annoying email, it just drops the item onto a page of your own which other people can also subscribe to (if you use google talk, the shared items of your friends will automatically show up in reader.) View mine, or drop that url into your feed reader of choice.

Creations

Where am I?

Ryan's shared items

Things I Support

No matter your political beliefs, if you value freedom you can support this group. They are dogmatically consistent in their support of personal freedom, even when it conflicts with public opinion and common sense. They ask the questions that should be asked. As such, I support them even when I disagree with their position on any particular issue. They are as essential to the functioning of our society as the media.

It's unfortunate that the political issues surrounding the Boy Scouts of America have overshadowed the rest of what it does. It is responsible for more of my values and character than any other influence, and remains a fantastic organization. On the issue of permitting Gays and Atheists to be members, I consider myself part of the loyal opposition. As an Atheist myself and an Eagle Scout, I will support and participate in the organization so long as it will accept my support and participation.

The Nature Conservancy takes a unique approach to protecting wildlife. Their primary methodology is to simply take the money you donate and use it to buy land. Political progress is one election away from reversal, but the progress of the Nature Conservancy is as permanent as property rights.

A microfinance charity with a personal twist, Kiva matches lenders in the developed world with people whose lives could be substantially and permanently improved with a small loan. The loans are interest free, but you get your money back at the end of the term and improve someone's life in the process.

Freedom of speech is the most essential right. All others spring from it. In the US, we protect speech, even reprehensible hateful speech, more thoroughly than any other nation on earth. Many people aren't nearly so lucky.

Carriage House FarmThey provide fresh local produce, honey, and horse stabling to the greater Cincinnati area. If you are interested in the workings of a farm, keeping bees, the politics of local food and family owned farms, or just what produce will be available at the next market, check out the frequently updated blog.

This game is definitely the most fun I've had online, and I also worked on it! Imagine Starcraft where each unit is controlled by a human and you'll be pretty close to imagining this game.

It's heartwarming that an organization that believes in bringing all knowledge to everyone just by creating the tools to allow everyone to volunteer is actually succeeding at it.